Why so many nuisance gator calls in Lee County?

There's a spike in the number of nuisance alligator calls in Lee County.

Gary Morse with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said so far this year, SNAP received 68 calls. For the entire year in 2015, there were only 38 calls -- half the amount made to the nuisance gator hotline.

There are several reasons why Lee County is seeing a spike in nuisance alligator calls. Although the amount is up significantly from last year, FWC still considers it in the "normal range."

During summer months, Morse said gators are more active. The reptile is cold-blooded and is looking to cool off in different bodies of water, which is one reason more people in Southwest Florida are spotting gators.

Over the past few decades, FWC also attributes more nuisance alligator calls because of the influx of people moving to Lee County.

"The increasing numbers of nuisance calls that they've been getting on alligators probably has a lot to do with the fact that we've had so many people move to Southwest Florida this year," said Amy Sera, the director of education at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium.